Veronica
I leapt a solid foot into the air, my heart pounding a thousand beats a minute at the quiet snick of the door as Marigold entered the room behind me and water sloshed down the front of me, bringing my mind flying back to the present.
“I’m sorry! I did not mean to startle you.” She apologized in her soft-spoken voice while I dried my now sopping shirt with the dish towel.
I took a moment to collect myself before responding, “No, you’re fine. I was lost in reminiscing and did not hear you come in.”
“Hmm, maybe about a certain someone? You know you are going to have to tell him when he gets here right?” She casually tossed the last part over her slim shoulder as she walked to the pantry and returned a moment later with the broom and dustpan.
She gave me a knowing glance before she started sweeping up the food off the floor, as if her last statement had not completely sent my thoughts into a hectic tailspin.
“I know, I know. I am just not sure how to at this point.”
I rinsed off the last dish before placing it on the counter with the others to dry. Then, I began wiping down the remaining counters and stovetop, beating myself up about what I knew was the right thing to do but also trying to find a way around it anyway.
Ryker hurt me badly when he had left the morning after without a word. I had thought that we were starting something beautiful in the wake of all the tragedy. That night was indescribable, but it hurt too much after the fact to allow myself the luxury of reliving it often.
It was doubly worse when he outright avoided me on his return trips to check on my safety at Jax’s behest. I always knew when he was near one way or another, but he never came to see me. Not once.
It had made the decision to keep my secret easier, but with him returning to the territory for the foreseeable future, it would be impossible to keep for much longer.
I noticed Marigold brushing the last of the mess into the dustpan. Accordingly, I grabbed the bucket to run the mop water while she finished tidying up the room, hoping the distraction would take my mind off of the pressing issue, at least temporarily.
Next, I retrieved the mop, but I had only swabbed one stroke when a loud knocking resonated from the front door. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I had not paid any attention to the footsteps approaching until the sound of rapping had rung out unmistakably.
“I can do this. You go get the door.” She motioned to grab the mop from me as she spoke.
“Thank you, Mari. I don’t know what I would do without you.” I shot a sincere look her way before concluding, “I’ll be right back.”
I arrived at the door as an additional series of pounding reverberated from the other side of the thick slab of wood. I opened the heavy door without further delay and immediately ducked out of the way of the fist that was swinging straight for my face.
“Shit, I’m sorry Ronnie! Are you okay?”
I looked up and met Asher’s jade-colored eyes as my own ran over his harried appearance, surprised to see him standing at my front door.
“Yeah, I am fine, but what are you doing here? Is everything all right?”
I righted myself as I answered, but I could not help as the worry began to creep in. Asher and I were not well acquainted, so him being here was strange, to say the least.
He seemed to shake himself out of whatever train of thought his mind had wandered down, replying with a grim look on his face, “Zeke launched another attack against Willow, in accordance with the bears at the boundary of the Northern Province this time. Ryker and your brother handled the situation, but Ry insisted that I bring you with me to meet the others at the pack house in the North.”
The first part of his soliloquy took a moment to register, as I was busy fuming internally about Ryker making decisions for me yet again without any input from me whatsoever.
My wolf was riled along with me, equally as pissed on my behalf, at least that was what I was going with.
I wanted to refuse sheerly on principal, but as my brain caught up with my ears, my next question spilled forth unbidden as the muscles in my shoulders began to bunch with the stress.
“Wait. Is everyone all right?”
Asher hurriedly responded before I could panic too much, saying, “As far as I know your family was safe but passed out and completely lost to the world at the moment.”
His words left me feeling a bit uncertain. While I had refused to return with my brother to our home territory, it had had nothing to do with him personally. There was simply something stronger rooting me deep into the rich soil here in the Southern Province.
I was sure that my brother and sister were fine, but as a new healer, I felt obligated to check on them in person. I was also a smidge worried about one other person, but I would never admit it aloud.
It would be difficult to ask Mari to do twice as much, but I also knew that she would not mind.
So, I replied, “Give me a few minutes to pack a bag and I’ll meet you back here in 15 minutes.”
“Actually, let’s make it the pack house in an hour, if that’s okay. There are a few things I need to take care of before we go.”
“Yeah, that works perfect. See you then.”
“Later, man.”
I moved to shut the door, but Asher stood fixed in place momentarily before he jerked his head away and strode off in the direction of the pack house.
I quietly trod through the house until I located Mari dumping the last of the mop water down the drain.
I plopped down in one of the wooden chairs, waiting until she joined me before saying, “You truly are amazing. You do so much already, which makes it more difficult to ask my next question, but do you think that you could cover for me here for a couple of days?”
“Of course, Ronnie. By the way, I heard what happened, werewolf hearing, remember? I hope your family didn’t get injured badly.”
“From what Asher said, I’m thinking that they are probably just worn out from the adrenaline crash. It’s normal, but I would feel better seeing them in person.”
“Well, I will hold down the fort here while you’re gone. Make sure you get some rest on the trip there. You deserve it, girl. You do twice as much as me on any given day.”
I shot a genuine smile her way before leaving and slogging my way down the hall to my bedroom. I gathered a few items, not paying much attention to what my hands grabbed, before I hopped into the shower for a hot, steamy cleansing session. I stood under the water for way too long, until it turned lukewarm, in fact.
I did not waste much time with my outward appearance as I pulled on some sweats and an oversized t-shirt after I was dry, and I decided to forgo my hair care routine altogether, throwing it up in a messy bun and calling it good. I loathed brushing my hair, and it was ten times worse when it was wet, so I gladly took any excuse to put it off.
Following, I grabbed my bag on my way out of the room in search of the other she-wolf, pausing to make a detour along the way.
I found Mari reading a book in the living room, snuggled up in the faux leather recliner with a pink blanket resting in her lap. She looked up with a smile and a wave before diving back into the pages of her novel.
I rolled my eyes at her half-hearted farewell, but I knew better than to interrupt her when she was reading. Therefore, I set off for the pack house without further delay, shouldering the straps of my backpack over the toned muscles of my right shoulder as I went.
Veronica I tramped up the path that led to the door of the pack house, pausing to admire the vibrant flowers in the last of the dying light. I had always enjoyed the beautiful image the few times that I had been invited here formerly, but I hadn't known until just recently that Willow had been the one behind the gorgeous gardening. I raised my fist, poised to knock on the door as I reached the end of the line, but it swung inward before my knuckles had a chance to connect with the rough wood, which I knew had only recently been replaced. Asher stood on the other side with his own duffel bag slung carelessly over his left shoulder. “I have perfect timing it appears. Lead the way.” I chortled, stepping back to let him stride out in front of me. Rather than reply, Asher elected to pull the door shut
Ryker I was aware of Ronnie’s arrival long before I could hear the first traces of the purring engine on the incoming vehicle. My wolf’s mournful howl boomed out in my head in response to our mate’s propinquity while I forced myself to remain standing within the doorway, not wanting to seem too eager by waiting in the driveway. The deafening sound penetrated through the unease that had suffused my being until all I could see was a reel of the most painful flashes of my life playing on repeat while I remained frozen in place. Returning to the South was the last thing that I wanted, but I also knew that it was long past time that I cleaned out the skeletons in my closet. Each new day added to the burden that I had been carrying my whole life, but it had become almost unbearable since that fateful morning after when I had first comprehended the full extent of the bond that I still share wit
Ryker I groggily rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I padded down the stairs and tiptoed through the silent living room into the bright light of the rising sun shining in from the east like a beacon into the spacious room. The rich scent of coffee had lured me out of bed, but as I entered the room, the fragrance which had submersed my dreams washed over me like a cleansing rain, bringing a sense of peace with it that had been absent in my life for so long. The familiar aroma of clean linen and lavender assaulted my nostrils, superseding the smell that had driven me here to begin with. I squinted my eyes open more fully as her personal perfume overtook my senses, searching every corner of the space before me for my mate. My bleary eyes connected with her brilliant green orbs, and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through me as
Veronica Once it became clear that I was not going to escape the room without having some sort of conversation, I backed up, putting some distance between me and the wall of muscle currently blocking my retreat. Sandalwood and peppermint wafted into my awareness with the breeze created by my movement, invading my air supply with a fresh dose of the intoxicating fragrance and leaving my wolf balanced precariously close to the edge. I had not made time to shift since arriving, and the prospect was not looking promising for the immediate future unfortunately. Jax would never allow me to go off on my own with the recent attack that had occurred, and I could guess who he would suggest as a guard if I dared to broach the topic. I contemplated sneaking off for a transitory moment but, in the end, discarded the idea as my pragmatic s
Veronica My level of apprehension grew exponentially with each second ticking by as Ryker marched us onwards to the waiting vehicle, lugging both his bag and mine without so much as breaking a sweat as we left the clinic. He hadn’t uttered a single syllable to me since our mild spat this morning, but the phrase “If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now” had persevered in intermittently sprouting up in my mind with the level of the intensity that I had seen burning behind his carefully cultivated façade when others were nearby. I kept waiting for him to shatter the silence as we trudged on, but it never happened. He did not look fuming per se, but something was clearly weighing heavy on his mind, making me squirm as the endless possibilities rocketed through my brain. I had all but resolved on crawling into the backseat for a nice, long nap the entire trip home when my plans were
Ryker I felt like the suspense might truly kill me as I waited on the edge of my seat for Ronnie’s feedback about giving our relationship a real shot. I kept one eye on the road ahead of us and one on my anxious mate beside me while trying not to rip the steering wheel in half with my death grip. My wolf perked up at the perceptible changes in her physiology while she cautiously considered my words. His constant clawing to break free of my skin ticked up a notch in response to her elevated heart rate and labored breathing. Thank Luna, I had gone for a prolonged jog last night with Asher, patrolling the border as a precaution and in preparation for the torturous day that I had successfully predicted today would be. Ronnie’s delectable aroma bathed the air surrounding me, making it tough to concentrate on anything but my increas
Ryker Veronica and I have a daughter together. I am a father. My wolf was oddly silent while I sifted through the competing stimuli going off in my brain at lightning speed. There had not been any mistaking the brilliant green orbs, identical to her mother’s, which had gazed up curiously into my own before the little girl had been shepherded away in a flash. How the hell did I miss this enormous facet of Ronnie’s life? I was shell-shocked as my eyes caught on the mirror image staring back at me from where my mate was standing a meager two feet away. Ronnie started in an uncertain tone, “There might have been something that I needed to tell you…” She let her sentence trail off while she pivoted her attention to the sandy ground in front
Ryker I did not take any time to unpack my things, but I did at least inspect the place for basic necessities and put my bag in the same room that I had been utilizing during my brief stints here in the South prior. As I departed the house, I found myself grateful that I had made the split-second decision to do a walkthrough before I began my tasks for the day. I had never encountered any issues in the past, but the lack of a proper alpha running the pack here had evidently leaked into other areas as well. The residence appeared somewhat tidy, but it was obvious that no one had entered the home since Willow and Jax had last left it. After a precursory glance, I knew that I needed to add a trip to the grocery store to my list if I wanted to eat anything tonight. I waffled between taking the car and letting my wolf loose, knowing